Working Groups

Sexual Assault Response Teams

In March of 2000, SWC began an ambitious project to pull together all the agencies involved in responding to cases of sexual assault, in an effort to coordinate and improve the efforts of those agencies. It was hoped that by improving the overall systemic response to victims, they would be more likely to cooperate with the investigation and efforts to prosecute offenders would be more successful.

Since that time, Sexual Assault Response Teams (SARTs) have been meeting regularly in both Berkeley and Jefferson Counties. The teams comprise representatives from law enforcement, the prosecutor's office, the hospital emergency departments, and SWC, and meet monthly to discuss the progress of cases, problems and obstacles faced by victims and the agencies involved, and ways to improve policies and practices.

The SARTs have been successful in improving communication between all agencies involved, refining agency protocol and practices to better serve the needs of victims, and beginning the process of establishing a SANE program in both City and Jefferson Memorial Hospitals (link towhat is a SANE?).

For more information about Jefferson County SART, please contact Reba Weller at 263-8522. For Berkeley County SART, please contact Mindy Tramonti at 23-8522.

Domestic Violence Task Force

Since the early 1990s the Domestic Violence Task Force, an evolving group of criminal justice, social service, and other professionals, has been meeting monthly to talk, plan, and work on how they can better serve victims of domestic violence and make the criminal and social service systems more efficient and effective. The Task Force has accomplished many things during its nearly decade run, not the least of which was the fostering of better working relationships between the many agencies and organizations that come into contact with victims of domestic violence.

The Task Force meets the second Wednesday of every month from 12:00-1:30 PM, at the Veterans Administration Medical Center. If you are interested in becoming Task Force member, or if you would simply like to attend a meeting, please contact Christina Freels at 263-8522.

Hispanic Outreach Committee

Though SWC will provide services to anyone who is a victim of domestic and/or sexual violence regardless of their ability to speak English, we rely on volunteer translators to assist us in working with clients with limited or no English proficiency. However, while there is certainly domestic violence happening in this community (as it does in every other racial, cultural, or ethnic group), the number of Hispanic and Latina victims who seek our services is very small compared to thei percentage of the overall population.

Therefore, in early 2001, a small group of dedicated individuals began meeting to address the issue of providing more comprehensive services to the growing population of Spanish-speaking clients in the Eastern Panhandle. The Committee met several times to discuss the issues of the language and culture barrier, legal issues for undocumented immigrants, health care, and access to other social services.

Though it no longer meets on a regular basis, SWC continues to strive to improve its response to all underserved communities. To this end, SWC is applying for funding from the West Virginia Coalition Against Domestic Violence to hire a bi-lingual advocate to work specifically with underserved populations, including non-Englsih speaking victims, elderly victims, victims of color, disabled victims, and lesbian/gay victims.

For more information on how you can help SWC address the needs of these various communities, please call Christina Freels at 263-8522.